Members of the HaNoar HaOved ve’HaLomed (NOAL) youth movement were in mourning this week after the death of Shahar Cohen Braun, coordinator of the movement’s activities in the Negev region, in a car accident last Wednesday. Cohen Braun was a member of the urban educators' kibbutz of the Dror Israel movement in Mitzpe Ramon. Hundreds attended his funeral, which was held on May 4th at the Mitzpe Ramon cemetery.
Cohen Braun, 38 years old at the time of his death, lived in the remote southern city of Mitzpe Ramon for 15 years, together with fellow movement members. Before serving as the Negev regional coordinator for NOAL, Cohen Braun worked in a number of educational and community roles in the area, including mentoring working youth and offering them legal assistance, coordinating educational seminars and field trips for schools, and leading projects at a local youth center. He is survived by his partner, Maya, and their daughter Zohar.
Cohen Braun was killed in a car accident on the morning of May 3rd at the Midreshet Ben Gurion intersection in a head-on collision with a concrete mixer. This stretch of Route 40 is defined as a high-risk area, and just last week a one-year-old baby was killed there in an accident in which six other people were injured.
Representatives of HaNoar HaOved ve’HaLomed said of Cohen Braun: "Shahar was an educator through and through; he dedicated his entire life to doing good in Israeli society. Anyone who met Shahar throughout his life can speak to the warmth, sensitivity and truth-telling that characterized him. We are grateful to have had the chance to know him.”
This article was translated from Hebrew by Matt Levy.
